To Gild a Lily
by rad like whoa
Summary: The typical story of James and Lily.. or is it? Starting from when Lily receives her letter and continuing through the years at Hogwarts. CHAPTER 9 IS NOW POSTED! please review with comments or critism, I can take it! heh.
1. Wait, I'm a what?

**A/N - **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, unfortunately.**

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To Gild a Lily: Chapter One

"Gin!" Lily exclaimed smiling, placing her hand of cards face up on the patio table. Lily's sister, Petunia, gave the unpleasant look that she was famed for and placed her hand face down in front of her while watching her smug sister collect her most recent paycheck. Lily grinned as she collected her earnings, emerald green eyes glinting in the glow of the midmorning sun. It was half past eleven at Four Privet Drive, and the sun had just begun to peak in the high point of the sky casting a warm glimmer on the perfect lawns of the neighbors. The grass was as green as Lily's eyes, and the water from the sprinkler next door was as blue as Petunia's glaring ones, which at the moment were pointed maliciously at her younger sister. That was the third time in a row Lily had won, and Petunia was out two paychecks.

"How's the game going, girls?" Julia Evans, mother to the sisters had just emerged from the porch double doors, bearing a tray with two glasses of iced lemonade on it.

"Positively spiffing, Mum!" Lily replied enthusiastically, a broad grin plastered on her fair face. Mrs. Evans glanced hopefully at Petunia, who was not quite as exuberant as Mrs. Evans had hoped. Seeing how putout her mother looked, Lily sighed inwardly. She knew this would never have worked. At the beginning of summer holidays, Mrs. Evans had decided that Lily and Petunia needed to spend more quality time together, and issued a new rule stating that the sisters must spend at least an hour a week together. Petunia had immediately figured out that because they couldn't bear to be around each other for more that ten minutes at a time, about eight and a half minutes a day would be enough. Unfortunately it was Saturday and-

"Mum, it's been forty-five minutes," Petunia said wrathfully, "Can we PLEASE get on with our lives now?" Mrs. Evans gave Petunia a stern look and opened her mouth to speak, but Lily was quicker.

"Well if you hadn't been out all week with Verny-poo then we wouldn't even be here right now!" Petunia reddened, but held her ground.

"Just because I have more of a social life than you'll ever-"

"Ha!" Lily said audibly, interrupting, "Somehow I think that your raging party life could have spared eight and a half flipping minutes a day!"

"Like you have anything to compare it to! You're pathetic, the way you sit at home every day of the holiday, reading some stupid book or writing that ridiculous poetry! It's disgusting!" Petunia spat, her voice thick with the utmost expression of loathing.

"Now girls," Mrs. Evans began, but was interrupted.

"Oh, of course! I'd much rather be snogging the brains out of some overweight loser! That's MY idea of a night on the town!" At this, Petunia's face became contorted with rage, and her complexion became cherry red right up to the roots of her pale blonde hair.

"You," Petunia began, "are an insolent, brainless, disrespectful, annoying, ugly twat of a sister!"

"PETUNIA!" Mrs. Evans barely ever raised her voice, resulting in both of the girls expressing looks of disbelief upon their angry faces, "I DEMAND that you apologize to your sister! Immediately!" Petunia scowled, glaring menacingly at both her mother and sister. Without a word, Petunia scattered the deck of cards and stormed into the house, presumably to her room, and slammed the porch doors behind her. Lily sighed again, looking at her mother's bewildered expression.

"She just doesn't get it," Lily thought grimly, beginning to gather the cards from the ground and the table. Mrs. Evans, after slightly recovering from the shock, bent down to help Lily collect the scattered deck.

"I just don't understand what's gotten into that girl," she began, as Lily began to become lost in her own thoughts, "I mean, we do everything we can to-" But Lily's thoughts were elsewhere. Lily knew exactly what was wrong with Petunia. Ever since she had begun to date this "Vernon" character, Petunia had been acting very strangely indeed. Lily knew for a fact that Petunia and Vernon, along with Vernon's friends from his school Smeltings, spent their holiday evenings smoking on street corners torturing the neighborhood children. Lily didn't think that Petunia would seem very comfortable with what Vernon was doing, but Petunia's personality made it difficult for her to make friends with normal fourteen-year olds.

"Ow!" Lily was brought back to reality by her mother's cry, "What in the world.." A large envelope had just collided with Mrs. Evans's head, causing her to drop all of the cards that she was holding. Instinctively, Lily's head shot up looking for whatever, or wherever, the envelope had been dropped from. Sure enough, gliding just out sight, was a tawny owl stretching its broad wings across the sun kissed horizon.

"Lily, darling," Lily's focus was brought back to her mother, whom was holding the thick envelope in slightly shaking hands, "It's addressed to you."

Lily blinked.

"What?"

"That's what it says, dear," Lily's mother's voice was trembling a little, creating a tense feeling in Lily's lungs, "Miss L. Evans." Mrs. Evans handed the envelope to Lily, wide-eyed. Lily gaped open-mouthed at the letter; it could be no mistake.

Miss L. Evans

The Patio on the Deck

4 Privet Drive

Little Whinging

Surrey

Lily blinked again, wondering what in the world could possibly be going on. The envelope was made of a yellowish parchment; it was very heavy for a letter, at least. It was addressed in emerald green ink that reflected in Lily's bright, almond shaped eyes. Hands shaking nervously, Lily carefully undid the sealed envelope and pulled out the letter and read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, _

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)_

Dear Miss Evans

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School ofWitchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins September 1. We await your owl no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress 

Lily's mind went blank; there was nothing that she could possibly say to her mother that would explain what the letter indicated. Unknowingly, Lily's jaw was dropped, and she handed the heavy parchment to her mother who was waiting with baited breath. Lily's mind was suddenly racing with questions to which she had no answer. Mrs. Evans seemed to be thinking along the same lines. There was a sudden popping noise from behind the neighbor's hedge, causing both mother and daughter to jump and come back from their thoughts.

"But," Lily spoke, voice trembling, "What does it mean, 'We await your owl no later than July 31'" Someone replied, but it was not the voice of Lily's mother.

"That would be where I come in."

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**A/N- Please review if you think I should keep going! (I will anyway.. for now.. hehe) Also, please review with any suggestions! I'd really appreciate anything that anyone would have to say for me to improve upon! Thanks!**


	2. Moody

Lily's head shot up from the letter, darting around wildly attempting to locate the voice. When she found it, however, she wished that she hadn't.

The man approaching Lily and Mrs. Evans was quite a sight. He was tall, but not extraordinarily so, and had short, dark grizzled hair that was cut just above the lobe of his ear. He was limping, clearly having some sort of injury on his knee and his uneven steps gave an unpleasant clunk on the patio as he advanced. His face, however, caused Lily's eyes to widen considerably. His face looked as though it was completely broken; every inch of it was covered in thick scars that had been clumsily repaired and his nose had clearly been broken at least once. His eye was normal, brown, small and solitary. His other eye was large and startlingly electric blue, swiveling as though independent from the rest of his face. Currently it was focused on Lily, who stumbled backwards under his gaze.

"The name's Moody, Alastor Moody," His voice was a low growl that caused a terrified Lily to grab onto the table for support. "But mostly people call me Mad-Eye, and if you can't guess why then I probably shouldn't be here in the first place." Lily was trembling slightly, mouth hung open and eyes wide.

"Why i are you here," Mrs. Evans said unexpectedly, voice shaky, "What do you want from us?"

"I see you got your letter already, that's good." Moody ignored Mrs. Evans completely, and observed the letter still clutched in Lily's hand, sitting down in the chair that Petunia had just been sitting in. "I s'pose you're wondering what it is that letter means, why you got it. Heard you from behind the hedge there, and I see I have a lot to explain.

"You see," Moody continued, not letting Lily or Mrs. Evans intervene, "I am a wizard. I work for the Ministry of Magic as an Auror, or a defense wizard against dark arts. I'm here to introduce you to the wizarding world and answer any questions that you might have 'bout anything in that letter." He repositioned himself in the chair and studied Lily intently with both eyes.

"Erm, I, uh," Lily stammered, unable to comprehend what this man had just told her, "I'm Lily Evans."

"That part I _do_ know." He growled, as though expecting somewhat of a wittier, more constructed response, "I'm here to answer your questions, not have mine answered."

"Okay," Lily was utterly confused. Did that man just say that he was a wizard? "What d'you mean, you're a wizard."

"I mean that I'm a wizard," He began, "That I can perform both basic and advanced forms of magic with and without the assistance of my wand."

"What do you mean, your wand?"

"I mean this."

From somewhere within his brown cloak, Moody pulled out a mahogany colored wooden stick that was about a foot long.

"But you ca-"

"_Wingardium Leviosa_ " He muttered, pointing the 'wand' at a glass of lemonade still on the table. Following the point of his wand, the glass began to fly through the air around the yard. Lily's eyes followed the glass carefully; intent to find some sort of device that was suspending the glass in the air. Moody's normal eye was following the glass as well, but the blue eye was fixed upon Lily, watching her reaction to the display with great interest.

Lily stared, unable to think of anything else to do. Questions exploded in her mind like fireworks, questions she never thought she'd ever have to ask.

"What's Hogwarts?" Lily inquired rather quickly, only able to discern one question at a time.

"Hogwarts is a school of magic," Moody began, blue eye darting to where Mrs. Evans stood examining the glass of lemonade, wide-eyed. "One school to which you have been accepted to attend."

"Where is it?" Lily asked immediately.

"Unplottable. No one really knows where it is," Moody said gruffly, still watching Mrs. Evans with either a look of mild amusement or of very deep annoyance. "'Reckon it's somewhere in Scotland, though."

"Well if no one knows where it is," Lily began, looking somewhat concerned, "Then how does one get there?"

"Take the Hogwarts Express on September first," Mrs. Evans was now listening to every word that Moody was saying, as though finally convinced. "At Kings Cross Station, from platform 9 ¾." Lily furrowed her brows in concentration.

_Is this some sort of joke? Platform 9 ¾_

As though reading her thoughts, Moody said, "It's in between platforms nine and ten."

"Oh," Lily said, completely nonplussed, "What does it mean, 'We expect your owl no later than July 31'?"

"Owls are the way that wizards communicate," Moody said, as though Lily were stupid, "I'm sure you saw the Hogwarts owl that delivered what you're holding now?" Lily nodded, trying still to understand what was going on.

"So this is some sort of boarding school?" Lily was startled to hear her mother speak, whom she had forgotten was there. Moody nodded.

"Correct. That is, should you choose to allow her to attend," Moody bowed his head a touch before continuing, "Let me be the first to tell you, and I'm sure I won't be the last, that having a fully trained witch or wizard in the family has proven to be quite an advantage, not only to the person in question, but to the family as well. I mean, think about it. Everything could be done using magic. The possibilities are _almost _limitless."

"But where can I get these supplies?" Lily had been leafing through the various sheets of parchment during Moody's response, "Not in London?"

"Yes, and no," Moody's eye had gone back to swiveling around his head, causing Lily to jump slightly, "Physically, yes, it is in London. However, it is not visible to the muggle eye."

"Muggle?" Lily and Mrs. Evans asked simultaneously.

"A non-magical person. Not a drop of magic in their entire body," Moody adjusted himself in his seat again, electric blue eye still twisting wildly, "Anyway, this place is called Diagon Alley. I'll write the directions on the back of your parchment," Lily handed over the parchment and watched as Moody conjured a feather quill out of thin air and began to scribble instructions onto the back of it.

Meanwhile, Lily was too busy trying to decide if this was just a huge joke or if she was actually going to go to a school where they taught magic.

"Hold on," Lily said, causing Moody's normal eye to look up at her, "I don't think you're at the right place. I mean, I don't think that I'm a witch. I think that you've made an awful mistake." Moody cocked an eyebrow suspiciously, eye still spinning uncontrollably.

"Do you?" Mrs. Evans watched intently as Moody continued, "Let me ask you something. Have you ever done anything that you can't explain when you were angry or frustrated?"

Lily considered this for a moment. When Lily was eight years old, she had gotten angry at Petunia for tattling on her when she drawn on the walls with Mrs. Evan's lipstick. So in response, Lily had ripped all of the heads off of Petunia's dolls and thrown them out her bedroom window into the front garden. After Petunia had predictably tattled on Lily, Lily had tried to run from her father into her bedroom. Fearing the worst, Lily thought it'd be best for her not to hide and just sit on her bed and wait. When Mr. Evans had come storming up the stairs into her bedroom, however, it seemed that he couldn't see her in the least. Lily was confused; she was sitting right there on the bed! Mr. Evans just looked right through her, shook his head and left the room. A bewildered Lily had just assumed that Mr. Evans needed to get a new pair of glasses, even though he didn't wear any.

"So," Lily began, becoming excited, "I'm really going to learn at a school of magic?"

Moody nodded, "And you won't need to reply by owl, I'm to report back to Dumbledore myself."

"Dumbledore, the headmaster?"

"The very same." Moody stood up and pulled out his wand again, "You'll meet him in due time. I'd better be off though; remember that your train ticket is in the envelope: Platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross Station. The train leaves at _exactly_ eleven, so don't be late."

Moody then smoothed out his cloak and held out his wand.

"Good luck,"

With a faint popping noise, he was gone.


	3. Diagon Alley

Chapter 3:

Lily and her mother got to Diagon Alley with no mishaps, following the instructions given to them by Moody. At first they had some trouble with the currency, something that Moody had conveniently forgotten to mention, but figured out the not so standard money system in due time. Lily had a lot of fun buying her supplies, which also included a chocolate colored owl with the same emerald eyes that Lily possessed. She had also bought her wand, something she was very keen on getting from the beginning.

The only wand shop in the entire village was called Ollivanders. The shop itself was narrow and kind of shabby; the kind of place that would have made Petunia wrinkle her nose as if suggesting that she were better, and Lily giggled to herself at the thought of Petunia being in Diagon Alley in the first place. The sign above the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. in peeling gold letters. Stepping inside the shop, Lily realized that the place didn't look any tidier from the inside than it did from the outside. It was quite small, with just one humble chair in the corner in which Mrs. Evans sat quite uncomfortably on the edge. From all the dust Lily wouldn't have thought that anyone had been in this place for many years. There were shelves upon shelves of narrow boxes stacked neatly all the way up to the ceiling. For some reason, Lily felt apprehensive about being in the shop. Everything seemed to be radiating some sort of cryptic magic that Lily was only vaguely aware of. Seeing a small bell on the desk in front of her, Lily tapped it nervously. Still looking around the room, Lily didn't notice when a small man emerged from behind the shelves.

"Good afternoon," Lily jumped as the old man spoke in gentle voice. He had large and gleaming, silvery eyes that seemed to be curiously soaking in every detail of Lily's physical appearance.

"Hi," Lily replied, unnerved, "I need a wand, for school. It's on my list-"

"I should hope so," the man interrupted, eyes twinkling, "for if it wasn't I should be most surprised." Lily didn't know how to respond to this, so she just nodded her head calculatingly.

"My name is Ollivander, and I hope to be selling you a wand to which you please the most." Mr. Ollivander began, taking Lily's insecure stance into consideration, "It is the wand that chooses the wizard, you know."

"I see," Lily replied, a little confused.

"Now," Mr. Ollivander began, "Tell me. Which is your wand arm?" Lily considered this for a moment, not quite sure what he meant.

"I'm right handed," She began, "If that's what you mean."

"Alright then, please extend your right arm." Then a tape measurer, with a wave of Mr. Ollivanders wand, began to take Lily's measurements all over her. As Mr. Ollivander was searching through the seemingly endless boxes, he began to speak.

Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance," His speech sounded practiced, as though he'd said it about a million times already, "We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are exactly the same. Oh, and you will of course never receive such proper results with the wand of another witch or wizard." Pulling down a box, Mr. Ollivander waved his wand again causing the tape measurer to stop.

"Here," he said, offering Lily the wand inside the box, "Try this. Cherry wood, 12 ¾ inches, dragon heartstring core." Lily took the wand expectedly and stood still. "Give it a wave," He continued. Perplexed, Lily waved the wand a bit before Ollivander jerked it away almost immediately. "No, no that won't do.." He began to search through the boxes again.

"Try this one, willow, 10 ¼ inches, swishy. Great for charm work."

Lily took the wand. She felt suddenly warmth, as though the wand was emitting heat. She brought down the wand in front of her, leaving a trail of gold and green sparks behind, cutting through the dust of the shop. Mrs. Evans let out a gasp, as though she never would have believed it if she couldn't see it.

"Oh, fantastic! Simply splendid," He took the wand back from her and placed it back in its box. "That'll be seven galleons please." He began to wrap the box in a thin brown paper as Lily pulled out her purse and grabbed seven of the gold coins. She put the gold on the table and grabbed the box quickly. After thanking Mr. Ollivander, she and Mrs. Evans hurried out of the shop. Lily wasn't sure if she liked Mr. Ollivander very much.

After Mrs. Evans and Lily were clear out on the streets of Diagon Alley again, Lily was itching to explore on her own and exercise her independence. As though reading her daughter's mind, Mrs. Evans smiled and said,

"I'm going to go and open up an account for you at Gringotts; why don't you have a look around, see if you can make a friend or two, hm?" Lily grinned and kissed her mother on the cheek before dashing away back into the bookshop. Mrs. Evans smiled at her daughter and headed the opposite way to the bank.

Lily wasn't really going to buy anything; she was just browsing through the various titles becoming more and more excited to go to Hogwarts than ever.

"My God," A drawling voice sounded from over her shoulder, "Who let a mudblood in this shop? I thought that it was against the law to allow something so disgustingly foul into such an establishment." Lily turned around, not entirely realizing that this person was referring to her. The boy that spoke was about Petunia's age; with slicked back bleach blonde hair and a pointed nose. He had a look of utter disgust upon his face, sharp eyes crinkled with loathing. He leaned in closer to her.

"I seriously doubt that you want to be in this position," He voice was so subdued that Lily could barely hear what he was saying. She heard sounds from both sides of her; two other boys had shown up, looking savage. "Because you're a girl, I think we'll give you a running start."

Powerless, Lily couldn't think of anything else she could do. She was alone and against three vicious looking boys who were older and probably more experienced in magic than she was. She fled, her bag swinging dangerously in her wake outside the bookshop. She bolted towards Gringotts; she heard the bookshop door bells being swung forcibly off of their handles. She looked desperately around her, trying to find an escape when she felt a strong hand grab her arm and pull her into an alley to her right. Lily struggled fiercely but whoever had saved her pinned her arms down with ease and used the other hand to cover her mouth. She heard a shuffling outside the dark alley, and saw the three boys dart past them, pointing somewhere ahead of them. A few moments after they had passed and Lily had calmed down, her captor released her into the main street.

"Sorry," A pleasant, male voice said ruefully, "I just assumed that you would rather be my hostage than theirs." Lily was breathing heavily and brushed herself off.

"Thanks," She began, still short of breath from having her mouth covered for more than a minute, "I'm Lily Evans, by the way."

Out of the alley stepped the most handsome boy that Lily had ever seen. He had jet-black hair that was a complete mess, but gracefully so. He had on circular glasses that covered round, hazel eyes, which were twinkling with mischievousness that was a little intimidating for Lily. Not yet seeing what his captive looked like, the boy looked up and gave a roguish grin at what he saw. Lily's thick, auburn hair was pulled into a loose ponytail in the back of her head but had since given way to her desperate escape. Her almond shaped emerald eyes were gleaming in admiration and she had a pert, little ski jump nose that was lightly sprinkled with delicate freckles across the bridge. He was about a head taller than she was, so she had to arch her neck slightly as she gave him a smile.

"James Potter," James said loosely, eyes wide, "Are you a first year?"

Lily nodded, "Yes,"

"Me too," Lily stared. He looked at least twelve! Seeing the calculating look on her face James replied, "I had my growth spurt over the summer."

"Oh," The pair began to walk down the main street, James with his hands in his pockets and Lily's hands fiddling with her bag.

"So," James began, Lily looked up eagerly, "How did someone as pretty as you fall into such unpleasant company?"

Lily blushed, "I was ambushed, actually. In Flourish and Blotts."

"Gits. They should have more respect for such a beautiful girl."

Lily grinned; she wasn't used to this much flattery! She looked up at James who looked as though he had just commented on the weather or something such normal. He didn't seem at all perturbed or embarrassed on addressing Lily in such a respect.

"Lily, darling!" Mrs. Evans voice rang out some way ahead of them; Lily rolled her eyes and turned to James.

"Thanks again!" She said, still grinning, "I'll see you at Hogwarts!" and she ran off towards her mother.

"Yeah," James said softly after she'd gone, "I can't wait."

A few weeks later, it was the day before Lily would leave for school, and everyone except for Lily was quite tense. Mr. and Mrs. Evans were busy talking, trying to ready themselves to have their daughter leave for a long time. Petunia was on the phone with Vernon as usual, putting on a high, fake laugh and her beady eyes darting around whenever someone would walk through the kitchen. Lily, however, was in her room reading the many books that she had purchased at Diagon Alley. In the time between returning home and the present, Lily had already finished _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1), A History of Magic, Magical Drafts and Potions_(One that she had found most interesting) and _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_. She had been obsessively reading anything magical that she could get her hands on, in hope that it would help her once she arrived at Hogwarts.

She had decided to name her owl Ceres after the Roman goddess of the Earth. She had bought several bags of owl treats while in the _Magical Menagerie_ and had been having fun feeding the various shaped snacks to Ceres.

Most of the time that she had been home, however, Lily had thought of James and the bullies in Diagon Alley. No boy had ever been so nice to her before. Unless you counted that boy in grade school who had only kissed her on a dare and had immediately spit and rinsed profusely afterwards. Every time that James crossed her mind, Lily's heart fluttered and a dreamy look swept over her porcelain colored face. Unfortunately for her, this had happened once at dinnertime.

Mr. Evans had been discussing his upcoming cricket tournament with Mrs. Evans animatedly whilst Petunia had been too busy glaring at Lily as though she was going to explode to notice anything else that was going on. Lily was distracted with the thought of James' smile to keep her busy.

"So Lily, I was thinking that we would leave early on September 1, just to make sure that we get there on time," Mr. Evans said after he and Mrs. Evans had finished talking about the cricket tournament and were now onto the next subject, "Sound good?"

Unfortunately for Lily, she had a bemused expression upon her face and was staring dreamily out into the porch thinking of James's smile and how his teeth were perfectly straight and his gorgeous hair that he probably didn't even do anything to when-

"Lily!"

Lily's head jerked out of its daze. She looked down at her plate; her steak and kidney pie was swirled around in a circular array of mush. The side of her mouth was starting to tingle as it was coming back from being asleep under the pressure of Lily's hand while her elbow was aching after being on the table for such an extended period of time.

"Huh?" was her witty response.

"Does that plan sound good?"

"Sure, whatever you say." Lily was slightly put out at being interrupted in the middle of her fantasy. Petunia rolled her eyes and went back staring icily at her sister. Mrs. Evans cocked an eyebrow.

"You alright, Lils?"

"Hm? Yeah, fine."

But Mrs. Evans was not convinced. She gave Lily a calculating looked which was soon replaced by a dawning of comprehension.

"Oh, I know what's distracting her!" Mrs. Evans said, sounding triumphant.

"No, you don't," Lily replied, a little too quickly.

"What?" Mr. Evans inquired, taking another bite of food. Lily shot Mrs. Evans a glare of warning, silencing her to only Cheshire smile.

"What?" Mr. Evans repeated, concern in his tone.

"It's nothing, Dad." Lily said, casting another admonitory glance at her mother, causing her to only widen her grin.

Lily rolled her eyes at the mere memory of the incident. Stroking Ceres, she tried to imagine life at Hogwarts. Would she have any friends? What if it was all just a huge mistake? Will the classes be hard? Only time would tell.

Goodness knows she didn't have much of that.


	4. The Train

To Gild a Lily: Chapter 4

After finally figuring out where the barrier was, gathering the nerve to get through it and getting her stuff onto the train, Lily was relieved to have found a compartment all to herself with twenty minutes left before the train departed. She threw her bag onto the overhead compartment and flopped down onto the bench-like seat, closing her eyes and letting out a deep breath; relaxing for the first time all day.

"Hello?" A voice came from the doorway, "Mind if I sit down?"

Lily sat up, feeling somewhat deprived. A very pretty girl stood in the doorway; she looked about eleven as well. She had a soft olive complexion with chocolaty brown eyes and long, thick ebony hair that fell about halfway down her back. She had a small, ski-jump nose and a vivacious rosebud mouth. She had a strong chin, which suggested confidence and daring. Lily smiled and shook her head.

"Please," Lily replied.

The girl trudged though the doorway, dragging her overloaded trunk behind her. She was attempting to lift her trunk onto the luggage rack, but couldn't seem to lift it above her shoulders.

"Here, let me help," Lily stood up next to the girl, and with their combined efforts were able to hoist the heavy trunk onto the rack. The girl sighed triumphantly and sat down opposite Lily.

"I'm Evangeline Knight, but you can call me Eva." The girl said, "What's your name?" Lily couldn't help but grin at the girl's boldness.

"I'm Lily Evans," Lily said, though without as much confidence as Eva.

"So do you come form a wizarding family? Do you already know magic? What house do you think you'll be in?" Eva said this all very quickly; Lily had a difficult time keeping up.

"No, I'm a muggleborn. I don't know any magic. What are houses? Are your parents witches or wizards?" Lily replied.

"Nope; I'm muggleborn too," She began, sounding somewhat disappointed, "I head this boy in Diagon Alley talking about the houses," She shrugged, "I can't remember what they were called though or anything." Lily nodded.

"So where do you live?" Lily asked.

"My parents just bought a place in Surrey, I think it's on a street called Wisteria Walk? I'm not sure; they're moving everything in today. I'm just glad I don't have to be apart of it."

"That's right next to where I live!" Lily said excitedly; she'd actually have a friend that's a witch in the neighborhood!

"Awesome!"

The girls then began to talk about their families. Lily explained all about Petunia while Eva described how her father was British and her mother was Italian, and how the closest thing she had to a sibling was her cousin, Marco, who was a complete jerk. Apparently he was only with them during summer holidays, which wouldn't do Eva any good considering this was the only time that she was home all year. They had been talking for about ten minutes before another voice came from the door, a soft, gentle one.

"Hi," Both girls looked up to see an averaged height, willowy girl who also looked their age. She was slender and had light blonde hair that was tied into half a ponytail. She had large, almond shaped eyes that were sapphire blue in color. She was gentle looking with soft features and a fair complexion. "May I sit down?"

"Of course!" Lily and Eva chorused, ushering her into the compartment. After another combined trunk lifting effort, the girl sat down next to Lily and across from Eva.

"I'm Eva," Eva stated promptly.

"I'm Lily," Lily smiled and tried to ask her where she was from, but Eva was quicker.

"Are your parents wizards? Or are you muggleborn? Where are you from? Do you know what the houses are?"

The girl looked startled and nervous. Lily shot Eva a warning glare; Eva shrugged.

"I'm Fiona, Fiona Kent. Yes, my parents are wizards, but no I don't know any magic. The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, and whichever house you're put in is based on your personality." After blurting all of this out quite rapidly, Felicity was left breathless, but smiled meekly all the same.

Eva blinked. "Really? Well I wasn't going to show anyone this, but last year I was reading that you can make it rain by doing some sort of dance." Without missing a beat, Eva promptly jumped up onto the seat and began to throw her head wildly about, dark hair all over the place, and her arms swinging madly on her sides while stomping her feet mercilessly on the seat. Lily was stifling a laugh while Fiona looked nothing short of baffled.

"Merlin save us," Another voice came from the doorway; a male voice, "Does she always act like this?"

Eva stopped almost immediately and brushed her thick hair out of her slightly pink face.

"Excuse me, but I don't remember inviting you in here," She began, flushed, "You can clear off now."

But at that exact moment, the train had begun to move, causing Eva to lose her balance. She fell from her position on the seat right into the arms of the boy in the doorway. He had medium length, pure black hair and shining grey eyes. To describe the boy in one word would be simple: gorgeous. He had a dominant nose and a strong, clefted chin. His hair fell perfectly into his eyes, and just above his ears. Upon catching Eva, his handsome face fell into shock, comprehending what had just happened. He stumbled backwards slightly, out of sheer shook, but recovered quickly. He gave a Hugh Grant-ish grin and raised his perfectly arched eyebrows.

"You were saying?"

Eva grumbled something inaudible and jumped out of the boy's muscular arms.

"Lily!" James Potter's voice came into the compartment from over the other boy's shoulder. He came rushing into the compartment, pushing the other boy clear into Eva who scowled slightly.

"So you're the Lily he keeps talking about!" Another boy crossed the threshold of the compartment; "He hasn't shut up about you for days!" Lily grinned.

"It's true," admitted James, "I haven't really spoken or thought of much else."

"I'm Remus Lupin," said the boy who had just entered. He had short, sandy colored blonde hair and tired looking pale blue eyes.

"Sirius Black," the boy next to Eva said, "and you're Lily..?"

"Evans," Lily replied.

"Right, then what are your names?" Sirius asked Eva and Felicity.

"I'm Evangeline Knight," Eva replied immediately, although she avoided Sirius's penetrating eyes while saying this, "But Eva's fine."

"And I'm Fiona Kent," Fiona said softly, "Why don't you all sit down?"

After everyone had finally been introduced a little more, they figured out that they were all first years. James and Sirius explained the houses a little more, and they discussed that until the lunch trolley came around. James bought lunch for everyone, ("He's practically rich," Sirius explained,) and Lily and Eva had a lot of fun with the magical food. (Eva more than Lily though, she couldn't get over how the chocolate frogs actually moved! Sirius rolled his eyes at this.)

Before any of them knew what was happening it had become dark outside and the train slowly halted to a stop.

"WE'RE HERE!" Eva screamed in delight, jumping up and grabbing her trunk. She swung it off the rack with such force that it revolved over her head and hit Sirius painfully in the face.

"Hey! Watch it!"

But Eva was long out of the compartment, racing towards the boats. Lily smiled and rolled her eyes; Eva was going to be a fun person to be friends with.

"Can I get your trunk?" James asked gallantly, bowing as though her servant. Lily giggled in spite of herself and held out her hand.

"Of course," She replied; James grinned and kissed her hand suavely. Lily watched as he easily brought her bag down from above them and offered her his arm. She took it, grinning, and followed the rest of her new friends out to the boats.


	5. The Boats

To Gild a Lily: Chapter 5

The boat trip across the lake was calm and peaceful. No one really spoke in spite of the serenity, except for maybe Eva who was too busy "ooo!"-ing and "ahh!"-ing to notice Sirius's constant shushes and consistently growing eye rolls. Even Lily was too mesmerized to notice James staring dreamily at her. The soft evening glow of the half crescent moon was casting a gentle incandescence onto the lake, illuminating the enchanting castle with a mysterious glimmer that made Lily shiver in anticipation.

The fifteen minutes that followed, however, were not quite as restful. Lily grew more and more nervous of what was to come up at the castle. Thoughts of doubt filled her mind; it was all too surreal. How could anything this exciting happen to such an ordinary girl? Was she really that special? She glanced around at her other companions in the small boat. James and Sirius were playing a game that looked like bloody knuckles with each other, laughing and joking as though not worried at all; Lily doubted they were anyway. Eva was watching them with great interest, seeming as though itching to join in. Lily chuckled to herself, but immediately bit her lip in anxiety.

_I'm probably not even supposed to be here. T__hey've made an awful mistake, I'm not magical in the least._

"You alright, Lily?" Eva asked with concern. James and Sirius were staring at her too, "I've been trying to get your attention for like, thirty seconds." Lily blinked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," She lied, "Just nervous about being sorted I guess." She began to stare nervously up at the fast approaching castle again. Eva's nose wrinkled in thought.

"Wow, I guess I hadn't thought about that yet," Eva said, voice drifting off a bit at the end.

"Well, my Mum and Dad were both in Gryffindor," James said, not really speaking to anyone in particular, "So I 'reckon I'll be there too."

"My entire family, down to the very last cousin, has been in Slytherin," Sirius said darkly, "If I'm not in Slytherin too I 'reckon Mum will pull me out and home school me, or write to Dumbledore for me to be re-sorted."

"Yeah, but you're different mate," James said, voice full of reason, "You're not anything like those losers you live with. No offense."

Sirius shrugged it off, "I know. I just wonder if the sorting hat has gotten so used to sorting Blacks that it just throws them all in Slytherin, y'know?"

There was a moment of silence. It wasn't necessarily awkward, just dense with thought.

"So, uh," Eva broke the silence, "How many other cousins of yours go here?"

Sirius put a hand to his chin in thought, "Well there's darling Narcissa, who's in that boat over there," He pointed somewhere to his left. From what Lily could see, 'Darling Narcissa' didn't look darling in the least. On the contrary, she looked quite unpleasant. She had long, silvery blonde hair that was pulled into a neat ponytail in the center of the back of her head, held together by a prim black bow. She had a pointed nose that was turned slightly upward. She had penetrating eyes that Lily couldn't see the exact color of, but they looked to be a shade of platinum blue. She was seated at the front of the boat, head held high in clear confidence. Turning back to Sirius, Lily could see that he had a look of pure disdain etched upon his handsome face. He shuddered slightly before continuing.

"Then there's Bellatrix, who I believe is two years ahead of us," He gave a mocking smile, "She's a real sweetheart too. She'll be the end of me, she will.

"Then of course there's just the pureblood Slytherins who of course are just completely against muggleborns in general." Sirius continued, still looking rather disgusted, "Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Avery, and the Lestranges, just to name a few." He sunk back into the rear of the boat, looking as though he might be sick, "My new roommates."

Lily gave him a sympathetic look; at least she wouldn't have to worry about being sorted into Slytherin, where it seemed they only took purebloods.

The silence captivated the four until they reached the shores of the grounds. The first years followed the sweeping lawns of their new school up to the main entrance, where they entered the Entrance Hall. Lily heard intakes of breath all around her; the hall was magnificent. The grand arches that outlined the elegant doorways were hung with impressive tapestries that were colored in reds, golds, greens and all of the other colors. Lily could even picture her entire house fitting snugly onto the entrance nook. The first years made their way up to the doors of the Great Hall, where a stern looking witch carrying a thick, parchment scroll met them. The witch looked over all of them before introducing herself.

"My name is Professor McGonagall," Professor McGonagall's voice rang clearly over the heads of the apprehensive first years, "Through these doors you will be sorted into your respective houses. The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. While you are in this castle or anywhere on the grounds, your house will be like your family. Good deeds or performance will earn you house points, while of course any rule breaking will lose you points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup.

"After we are all in the Great Hall, I'm going to call your names in alphabetical order. When I call your name, please sit on the bench in the front of the hall where you are to be sorted. Is that at all unclear?"

Lily looked around; everyone around her seemed just as distressed as she was, even Sirius and James, who were both quite pale.

"Right," Professor McGonagall said, "Please follow me."

**A/N Thanks for all of the reviews! Just letting everyone know that these are mostly Anaela's ideas and you should definetely go to her page. Now. Because I command you to. Wait, no! Review me first! hehe. Thanks!**


	6. The Sorting

To Gild a Lily- 6

Lily drew in breath; this was it. The doors swung open to theGreat Hall and Lily heard Eva attempt to sustain a shriek on her right, but Lily couldn't blame her. Lily had never even imagined such a splendid room. There were what looked like millions of candles floating above them in midair, casting a generous light into every corner of the Hall. There were four long, wooden tables where all of the other students were sitting in their respective houses. Over the table on the far left were banners and flags of brilliant scarlet and gold, a lion emblem displayed upon the breathtaking scene. Lily assumed such was Gryffindor, based on James's description.

The next table was undeniably Ravenclaw, royal blue and bronze colored beautifully while displaying the insignia of an eagle upon the banners and flags. First to her right would be Hufflepuff, with its dazzling array of yellow and black, badger sported proudly upon the numerous flags. That meant only Slytherin was left. On Lily's far right sat the Slytherins, green and silver snake glaring in what looked as though a malicious manner. Peering at the menacing looking students, Lily recognized the bully that had ambushed her in Diagon Alley. Expectedly, his two cronies that assisted him were aside him; they didn't look like the brightest people that Lily had ever seen.

Professor McGonagall led them along in between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables, all of the other students staring up at them as though they were exhibits in the zoo. Lily felt a sudden jab in her right arm; unsurprisingly, it was Eva. She pointed up, and Lily gasped. It seemed as though there was no ceiling. The gleaming stars and dark, indigo blue sky was displayed instead.

"It's just a spell," James whispered from her left, "It's bewitched to look like whatever the sky outside looks like." She saw two shooting stars overhead and grinned up at him, he was smiling brightly.

The group to be sorted was lead up to the front of the hall where the teachers were sitting. Lily gulped.

_This is really it._

Professor McGonagall then stepped out from in front of the group and retrieved a shabby looking stool from inside a cupboard. She placed in front of the first years and then brought out an old looking wizards hat that was patched and frayed and horrifyingly filthy. Lily almost laughed to wonder what Petunia would think of it. Professor McGonagall then sat the pointed hat on the stool. Lily blinked and stared, looking and feeling confused. She looked at Eva, who shrugged. Lily turned back when-

"What is in a hat, you say?

A clever question pondered.

Think whatever thoughts you may,

And let thee never wander.

Thoughts of houses, only four

Will ever cross these stitches

Perhaps a wish, but never more

To sort young wizards and witches

Gryffindor perhaps for you

Where courage and nerve are welcomed

Where bold chivalry is housed anew

And cowardice is seldom.

Or maybe even Hufflepuff

For those loyal and true

Their hearts are strong, faithful, tough,

The allegiant, dependable few.

Perchance in Ravenclaw you'll go

Where wit and logic approved

The clever, here, will always grow

A competence ensued

Conceivably in Slytherin,

Where dwell the powerful

Where blood and past will always win

And ambition always pulls

So try me on, no I won't bite,

Unless you bite me first

Your future is almost here in sight,

Lets hope it's not the worst."

Professor McGonagall then pulled out her yellow parchment scroll and unrolled it carefully.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said.

"Anders, Alice!"

A blonde haired girl with a round face stepped carefully out of line and walked clear up to the stool without looking back. She placed the hat gingerly on her head. It fell over her eyes while she was sitting down.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table gave a distinct round of applause as Alice made her way grinning to the table on the left.

"Black, Narcissa!"

The girl that Lily had seen in the boats strutted up to the stool, nose in the air. She sat delicately down on the battered old stool and had barely placed the hat on her fair head before the hat screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" Narcissa gave a wicked smirk and flounced her way over to the Slytherin table, which was cheering immensely. Lily noticed that her would-be captors seemed to be cheering quite loudly, especially the leader.

"Black, Sirius!"

Sirius, now quite pale, clumsily made his way out of line and swaggered up to the stool looking almost like he was going to be sick. He picked up the hat and sat down on the stool, looking grim. He placed the hat on his head. Lily was watching Sirius intently; she looked at James and saw that he too seemed to be concentrating excessively upon him as well. Thirty seconds passed; Sirius looked as though petrified.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Sirius's face split into a manic grin. He jumped off the stool, shoved the hate into Professor McGonagall's arms and practically skipped to the Gryffindor table, where he was greeted with applause. Lily glanced over to Narcissa. She was sitting, mouth hung open and eyes boggled, staring at her cousin. Lily almost chuckled, but was afraid she might vomit.

"Carmichael, Derrick!"

A handsome boy from somewhere in the back of the line made his way to the stool where he was almost immediately declared a Ravenclaw.

"Evans, Lily!"

Lily froze. She knew that her name had just been called, but she felt petrified with fear. It wasn't until Eva pushed her a bit that she even moved at all. She very clumsily made her way up to the stool, tripping slightly on the second step. Upon reaching the stool, she carefully picked up the hat and sat down, shaking. She then placed the dirty hat on her auburn head, letting it slip down over her eyes. She waited.

"Hm," said a low voice in her ear, causing her to jump, "A very quick mind, undoubtedly hardworking. Great leadership skills I see, and amazing courage. But where to put you,"

Lily gripped the edges of the stool in fear that she might fall off.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily practically threw off the hat and scurried down to her right to join Sirius, who gave her a one armed hug around the shoulders. Lily began to grin uncontrollably; she was in Gryffindor! She didn't even here the next few people become sorted in her ecstasy; the next name that she heard and recognized was,

"Kent, Fiona!"

Fiona looked just as nervous as Lily had been. She stumbled apprehensively up to the stool and placed the hat upon her braided head. (On the train, Eva had insisted on French braiding it, despite Lily's protests that it looked fine) Immediately the hat screamed "GRYFFINDOR!" and she made a beeline to sit next to Lily who gave her a warm smile.

"Knight, Evangeline!"

Dark hair all over the place, Eva hastily made her way up to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head. Lily could almost feel the eye roll coming from Sirius. After only about ten seconds, the hat screamed:

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily heard Sirius groan as Eva scampered down to sit next to Alice Anders and across from Lily. Lily clapped along with the other Gryffindors as Eva sat down, wide-eyed and grinning.

"Lupin, Remus!"

Remus made his way carefully up to the stool, giving Sirius a thumbs-up before sitting down and pulling on the hat. It was almost a minute before,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Remus was shaking as he made his way to the Gryffindor table. He gave Sirius a high-five and sat down next to Eva. "McKinnon, Marlene" then became and Gryffindor and "Nott, Theodore" became a Slytherin.

"Pettigrew, Peter!"

A small boy with a pasty face made his way quickly up to the stool. He sat there for almost two minutes before he was sorted into Gryffindor. He sat down next to Remus and gave him a sheepish grin, causing Remus to smirk and Sirius to roll his eyes. Lily noticed that he did that a lot.

"Potter, James!"

James took a step forward, following the same path to the stool that Lily, Sirius, Fiona, Eva and Remus had taken. He shakily picked up the hat and placed it on his head, and sat down on the stool. He needn't have sat down though, because halfway in bending his knees the hat screamed,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

James gave a lopsided grin and jauntily made his way to the Gryffindor table to sit next to Fiona. He smiled at Lily; she smiled back.

They were all in Gryffindor.

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**A/N: Okay, first and foremost I would like to thank Aleana for helping me with everything having to do with the story so far and after you review.. (and you shall..?) you should go read her stories too and review. Because, and I will say this many more times to come, Revies are life. **

**Also, I just wanted to let everyone know that I WROTE THAT SORTING HAT SONG AND IT TOOK ME A FRIGGIN LONG TIME. So yeah. Just to let you know. heh.**

**This is more a developmental chapter as well; chapter 7 will be too. Chapter 9 is where it's at. But you'll have to wait, because I haven't written it yet, heh.**

**REVIEWW! now. thanks!**


	7. Transitions

To Gild a Lily- 7

The first three years at Hogwarts were more a dream for Lily than anything else. She made excellent marks in Potions and Charms, and did very well in all of her other classes. Her relationship with her friends had grown too, especially with Eva who turned out to live just one street over from Lily's house. They were together almost everyday of the summer holidays. Lily had also been introduced to Eva's charming cousin Jasson, who despite looking almost identical to Eva was quite opposite. He was arrogant and unruly and had unfortunately developed a ridiculous obsession with Lily.

Eva had matured as well, though still managed to supply the group with more than enough insanity with her psychotic antics. She received average marks and just enjoyed being at Hogwarts in general. Even though she and Sirius fought like cats and dogs, Lily suspected that she liked him a lot. A whole lot.

Fiona eventually came out of her shell after a few weeks and became almost (almost), as loud as any of them, although she became quite flustered when it came to Remus, obviously having a crush on him. She received above average marks, though not quite as good as Lily.

James had become quite the popular young man, making the quidditch team in his second year to play chaser. With his constant hair rumpling and gorgeous roguish grin, girls practically threw themselves at him, much to the dismay of Lily who had developed a whopping crush on him. And despite his spending almost everyday in detention for a prank of some sort, he got fairly good marks.

To be quite frank, Sirius hadn't gotten any less attractive over the years. Quite the opposite, in fact, he quickly became the most sought after boy at Hogwarts with his perfectly tanned skin, medium length dark hair and perfectly proportioned face. He had an inordinate number of girlfriends and had inhabited almost every known broom closet n the school (and perhaps some unknown ones). In third year, he had made beater on the Gryffindor quidditch team. He shared the detention hall with James quite frequently and they had become quickly known for their daring pranks and dashing good looks.

Remus has become the logical one in the group, getting top marks to rival Lily's although he didn't try half as hard. He and James and Sirius had become known as the Marauders in school and he was renowned for his witty remarks and sarcastic comments. Despite his wryness, Lily found him to be quite sweet and caring of his friends.

In their third year, a small boy had joined their group. His name was Peter Pettigrew and Lily thought he was a bit of a dimwit, to be honest. He was short on brains, even shorter on comebacks, and followed James and Sirius around like a little lapdog and practically worshipped the ground that they walked on.

Now in their fourth year, the six friends will be able to expect some changes coming their way very soon.

* * *

**A/N: More of a transitional chapter that I forgot to put in; please review! yayy**


	8. James, James, James

To Gild a Lily- 8

"Guys, hey, GUYS! WE'RE OVER HERE!" Lily covered her ears as Eva screamed loud enough for someone on the other side of the world to here. Ironically enough, her shout was directed at a group of 14-15 year olds who were only a little bit away. Eva bounded over and tackled Fiona into a hug, ever growing hair streaming behind her.

"Gee Eva, thanks for yelling loud enough for y'know, the entire world to hear," Sirius said sarcastically, "Especially because we're _five bloody feet away from you._"

Eva smirked and released Fiona, Remus being her next target. Lily smiled knowingly; she had a strong indication that Eva and Sirius really liked each other, despite their constant bickering. Lily, however, strongly favored a messy-haired marauder who was currently missing in action.

"Where's James?" Lily inquired anxiously. The others didn't know that she was in love with him, or that he had been the only person he had missed beyond mortal belief all summer.

"Nice to see you too, Lily," Remus remarked, glint in his brown eyes. Lily grinned apologetically and hugged Remus and Fiona. She looked over to Eva and Sirius before sighing; they were already squabbling with each other.

"So Lily, why in such a hurry to see our Mr. Potter?" Sirius said, wicked gleam that Lily knew oh so well in his gorgeous grey eyes. Lily colored.

"I'm not, he just," Lily began, trying to find the right words, "He just wasn't here, that's all. I just wanted to know where he was." She shrugged it off to skeptical looks from her friends; "I'll just, erm, go wait for him then? Yes, I'll be at the barrier.."

Lily hurriedly walked towards the barrier, eager to get away from all of the suspicion. She leaned up against the side of the barrier to wait for him. She checked all of the vitals: hair, clothes, breath, makeup, (not that she was wearing any, but she did anyway). After a few more minutes, James appeared through the barrier, dragging a trunk in his wake.

"Hi, James!" Lily said brightly, voice muffled in his shoulder. James staggered backwards and chuckled.

"Lily? Is that you?" James said. He was still distinctly taller than she was, so he was able to look down onto her long, auburn hair, "How are you, my dear?" He gave her a tight squeeze and released her, grasping her hands.

"Lily! My summer has been but an empty passing without you in my arms!" James cried poetically, getting down on one knee. Lily giggled as James stood up again. She threw her arms around him again and sighed inwardly. She'd missed his flirting with her even though he knew that he was just joking around. When they pulled apart, however, James had an odd look on his face. His hazel eyes were boring into Lily's emerald ones, a distant look in them. Lily's grin faltered.

"James? You there?"

He didn't answer. His face just drew closer to hers, mouth hanging open slightly. Lily drew in breath; they were almost close enough to kiss. James continued to draw closer to her, the same look in his eye. They were merely seconds away from locking together when they were interrupted.

"Oy! James!" It was Sirius, "I've been trying to get your attention for like ages, what's your-" He stopped dead in his tracks, seeing them that close, "Am I interrupting something?" He asked evilly, manic glint in his eye. James dropped Lily like a hot potato.

"Nah, man." James tussled with Sirius briefly and walked over to the others, as if nothing had just happened. Lily was left by the barrier, completely dumbfounded.

_What in the heck was that?_

Conditions didn't improve much on the train, which turned out to be Lily's worst yet. Sirius and Eva didn't stop bickering the entire trip and had Eva had even resulted to hexing Sirius, causing his perfect teeth to grow to an inordinate size. After Lily had quickly performed the counter curse (Eva scowled at this), Sirius had exclaimed haughtily to Eva that she was lucky that she was a girl or else she would be 'hexed into oblivion'. This little comment led into a heated argument about all of the _specific reasons_ why Eva was lucky to be a girl, which had caused everyone in the compartment (Except Eva), to blush considerably.

Remus also didn't speak much at all because Peter had since joined them and Remus couldn't stand Peter. Fiona was usually quiet anyway, but since Remus was there she was even more flustered. On top of all that, James hadn't spoken to or even looked at Lily the entire trip. Resigned, Lily pulled out a book and began to attempt to read over Eva and Sirius's yelling.

The sorting and feast weren't exactly the best time of Lily's life either. James continued to act as though Lily didn't exist and spoke very little to anyone in general. After the feast concluded, Lily grudgingly pulled herself off of the bench of the Gryffindor table and followed the rest of the Gryffindors up to the common room. Upon reaching the portrait of the Fat Lady however someone stopped her. It was James.

"Lily, wait," He was jogging up to her from the far end of the corridor. Lily smiled a little; _He's actually talking to me!_

"Look, about earlier, at the barrier, I wasn't going to kiss you or anything," he began; Lily's face fell, "I just wanted to fake Sirius out, y'know? I didn't mean anything by it. At all." Lily stared numbly, feeling herself nod.

"Yeah, okay," and with that, James quickly made his way into the common room through the portrait, leaving Lily mystified.

Despite his rather strange apology, James still didn't acknowledge Lily for the rest of the night. He joked around with Sirius and played chess with Remus while Eva and Fiona caught up with each other about their summers. Lily sat by herself in a lonely armchair, trying to figure out what was going on with James.

"You alright, Lily?" It was Remus. He had been playing chess with James and listening to a joke that Sirius had just told when he noticed Lily sitting by herself, looking confused.

"What?" Lily looked at Remus's concerned expression, "Oh. Yeah, I'm fine I guess." James turned around, still laughing at Sirius's joke. Upon seeing Lily though, his face fell into a dreamy state again. His mouth began to hang open again and he had that far away look in his eyes. Lily cocked an eyebrow.

"James? What are you doing?" Lily said loudly, "James! Wake up!"

James jerked out of his daze, quickly murmured something about being tired and practically sprinted up to the boy's dormitories.

"Well that was interesting," Sirius said. Lily sighed; this year was going to be really bad if James didn't shape up.

Up in the fourth year dormitory, James was pulling back the scarlet sheets on his four-poster and climbed into his relentlessly comfortable bed and rolled over.

_Well this is an easy one. I'll just stop talking to her; don't make any contact with her whatsoever. That'll work. _

_It has to._

James then fell into an uneasy sleep, dreaming of Lily.

* * *

**A/N: hmm James is in quite the pickle, eh? props to aleana because she's just amazing.**

**Please review! D**


	9. What did I do?

To Gild a Lily- 9

Lily woke the following morning feeling as though she'd been hit by a truck. She groaned and rolled over, wondering what could possibly be causing her to feel this way.

_James._

Lily groaned again, recalling the previous days events. How James had made a pass at her, acted as though it had never happened, then completely ignored her for the rest of the day. Glancing at the clock, she realized that she had to get up soon anyway and that there was no real point in going back to sleep. She pulled off the blankets and dragged herself out of bed.

Eva was clearly having a dream, twitching every two seconds and occasionally throwing her arms about in a violent manner. Fiona was sleeping peacefully, having nothing on her mind to worry about. Lily sighed and made her way into the bathroom. After a quick shower, she pulled on her robes and tied her long hair into a tight bun as usual.

"Someone's up early," Eva said as Lily trudged back into the dorm. She had just woken up and was brushing her hair into a ponytail. Lily smirked and began to put her books into the bag that James had given her for Christmas last year.

_James._

"You okay, Lils?" It was Fiona. Lily looked up; she was putting a brush through her slightly frizzy morning hair. Lily forced a smile half-heartedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine Fee." Lily replied softly. Eva gave her a look of concern, but shrugged it off.

"C'mon then, breakfast just started."

Sirius, Remus and Peter were already in the Great Hall when the girls arrived. Eva promptly marched up to Sirius, who looked quite sleepy and threatening to anyone who wished to disturb him. Eva was obviously willing to take her chances.

"Sirius!" She said loudly, sitting down between him and Remus, "So glad to see you're fully awake and eager to further your magical education!"

She then gave him a bracing smack on the back, sending him face first into his porridge. Not entirely up to witnessing Eva's murder, Lily chose to sit next to Peter on the other side of the table. She noticed that James was missing again.

"Where's James?" Lily asked loudly over Sirius yelling at Eva and grabbing a bit of toast.

"Quidditch practice," Peter said in between mouthfuls of sausage and scrambled eggs. Lily blinked.

"Wow, they're starting early this year," she remarked. Peter shook his head.

"Nope, got up hours ago and headed out by himself," Lily frowned. If there was one thing she knew about James Potter it was that he didn't wake up early, even if it was Christmas. Lily didn't want to jump to conclusions, but it seemed as though he was avoiding something, or someone.

"You know Lily," Remus said slyly, "You've been paying a lot of extra attention to James than usual. Can we make the assumption that just maybe your feelings for him may be a bit less platonic and that you _just might-_" But Fiona elbowed him in the ribs, cutting him off. Lily scoffed.

"Of course not," Lily lied, "James and I are just friends."

_ At least I think we are.._

Sirius was still yelling at Eva. "-AND IF YOU EVER DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN, I'LL CURSE YOUR EARS OFF!" he finished, voice hoarse.

Eva, who plainly hadn't been listening to a word he was saying, pushed away her empty plate.

"Yes, of course darling," she said, kissing him on the cheek as she got up, infuriating him even more.

"YOU... WHAT... HOW COULD YOU... GOING TO KILL YOU..." Sirius squawked outraged.

"Yes, I love you too Sirius," Eva said in a lovey-dovey voice. She gave him a wink, "Come on Lily, I rather like my ears!"

Eva and Lily dashed out of the Great Hall, laughing, while Sirius sat flabbergasted and stuttering in their wake.

James didn't show up for breakfast at all that morning. In fact, Lily didn't see him again until Charms class. He was walking quickly up the corridors towards her, hair as messed as ever and sweating a little from the warm morning on his broomstick. Lily swooned the least bit; he was gorgeous.

"Hi James!" Lily said as he approached, "How-" He blew right past her, without even a glance, "-are you." Eva shot her a quizzical look and Lily sighed.

All through Charms, James kept his eyes on his parchment or on Professor Flitwick, never straying to Lily's pleading emerald ones.

_What did I do?_

James's behavior didn't improve throughout the week. The most he ever said to her was, 'That's my cauldron,' when she accidentally took his in Professor Slughorn's class, who 'tutted' at Lily's distracted potion. Even stranger, Lily could have sworn that he was staring at her throughout both History of Magic and Transfiguration. James kept up this matter throughout all of September and even into October and November.

Yet throughout all of this treatment, Lily still found him as irresistible as ever, and was still as much in love with him as she always was. She just couldn't understand why he was acting like this, and why no one else seemed to notice.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, ridiculously short chapter. But things start looking up in the next chapter or two.**

**Thanks to Aleana because she's an incredibly rad person. ♥**


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